6 Tips to Power Down Your Body & Mind for the Evening

Monday, March 27, 2017

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone.  #TeaProudly #CollectiveBias


I'm such an adult these days.  Seriously, I do all kinds of things that I never thought I'd do.  I enjoy staying home on weekends instead of going out, I drink tea and ENJOY it, and I go to bed by 10 pm as often as possible.  Sleep is so crucial in our lives and the main reason we don't get enough of it is because we either can't fall asleep at night, or we just don't make it a priority and we claim we are so busy and just can't settle down.   It's so important to take time to relax and prepare for bedtime and it's sad that most of us don't make it a priority.   So today I'm going to give you a few tips on how I power my body and mind down for the evening so you can relax, rest, and get a good night's sleep.

||Stay Active During the Day||
Have you ever sat on the couch all day and then you literally feel like you're going stir crazy and can't even fathom the thought of going to bed.  Where did all the pent up energy come from? Well for me, that's what it's like when I don't stay active enough during the day.  I need to get my energy out before the evening.  During the work day I take 2 walk breaks with some coworkers where we go out and walk around the building.   I make sure that if I don't get to do those things during the day, I take a walk after dinner with Rocky or do some yard work.  It's important to stay active because it helps your body and mind deal with your energy.  Sometimes I'm so active getting things done around the house after work that it's easy for me to get tired by bedtime.

||No Food After 8PM||
Since I go to bed around 10, I like to go 2 hours before bed with no food.   Late night snacking has always been a bad habit of mine because I would get bored while watching TV and ended up eating every night.  Eating and watching TV started to go hand in hand and I couldn't do one without the other.   One of the things I did to break that habit is that at 8PM on the dot, I make tea and sip on that until bedtime. 
no eating after 8 pm.  I'll explain more about my tea habit later on in this post.

||No Phone or Computer||
People always say that the bright light from electronic devices can stimulate you and make it harder for you to settle down and fall asleep.  I found that to be so true for myself so I made a simple rule for myself.  My laptop gets plugged in to charge in the office, and my phone gets charged next to my bed.  That way when I'm in the living room I'm not getting distracted by things online and I'm not staring at a bright light right in front of my face.

||No Bedroom Until Sleepytime||
Some people lay in their bed all evening before falling asleep.  I can't do that.  The only time I go into the bedroom and lay in bed is when I'm ready to fall asleep.  That way I associate my bed with sleep.   When I lived at home with my parents I was always in my bedroom and my bed was basically where I ate, where I blogged, and where I relaxed.  It was so hard to all of a sudden change into sleep mode at an appropriate time.  So I stay in the living room and relax on the couch and when I start to feel sleepy (always around the same time), I go right in, lay down, and I'm asleep within a few minutes of my head hitting the pillow.

||Bedtime Routine||
So some people wait until right before they go to bed to brush their teeth and put their PJs on.   For me, doing those things tells me I'm entering the 1 hour time period before bed where I need to start settling down and prepare to fall asleep.   So at 9PM every night I get my pajamas on (if I'm not already wearing them), take off my makeup, wash my face, and brush my teeth.  There's something about this whole routine that puts my brain into sleep mode.  I stop worrying about things I have to do the next day, I start focusing on letting my body feel tired, and I just simply enjoy the quiet time I have before bed. 

||Sipping Bigelow Benefits Tea||
Like I said before, I actually love drinking tea everyday now.  I've actually made drinking tea part of my routine in the evening.   Sipping tea has replaced my habit of late night snacking when I'm bored which is much better for me since I'm trying to NOT eat after 8pm.  So what I do is sip Bigelow Benefits Sleep Chamomile and Lavender Herbal Tea.  It's got such a great floral flavor and really helps me feel relaxed so I can settle down for the night and get ready for bed.

Bigelow Benefits is a new line of tea designed to support everyday wellness.   It's so important to put good things in our bodies and when Bigelow created the Benefits line they wanted to help us define the life we want to live by incorporating this tea in our everyday routine.  Not only does it taste amazing but it helps support your well-being. 

I'm trying to live a clean and healthy lifestyle and the Bigelow Benefits line is designed to support that, with seven new teas that contain all-natural herbs.  Bigelow has been around for over 70 years and the fact that they are gluten free, contain no GMOs, and are blended and produced in the USA makes it a favorite of mine.  They have 6 herbal teas and 1 green tea and incorporating these teas in your daily routine like I did, can really help promote a healthy and balanced lifestyle.   If you're one of those people (like myself) that tries to do little things to maintain and healthy and active lifestyle, this is a perfect addition to your routine.  I now eat more veggies and whole, fresh foods and make my sleep a priority so Bigelow Benefits teas fit right into my lifestyle. 

You can find Bigelow Benefits teas in the tea aisle at Giant. 

Which one of these tips do you think will help you the most when it comes to establishing a sleep-friendly evening routine?














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5 comments:

  1. I've got to do better with no phone or computer before bed. I'm a part-time WAHM, full-time SAHM, so my time to work is when my children are asleep. However, I should def stop working right up until I'm passing out. I like the idea of turning off the electronics 1 hour before bed. That at least lets my mind and eyes rest. Great tips! #client

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such great tips! Routine is key.

    Mary
    www.marymurnane.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm really bad when it comes to the "no food after 8 pm" and "no phone or computer"!! I gotta learn to put the phone down sooner in the evening!

    ReplyDelete

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